Medical marijuana bills curling through Legislature

April 22, 2007

Medical marijuana bills are curling through the Legislature, a Senate bill last week clearing yet another committee.
But state law enforcement opposes the legislation.

And their support is critical.

Medical marijuana initiative has advanced previous sessions but never so far.

Supporters depict the illegal drug as offering pain relief to the terminally ill and those afflicted with chronic pain.

A number of state health care organizations, including the Minnesota Nurses Association and Minnesota AIDS Project, support access to medical marijuana.

The legislation boasts bipartisan support — representatives Chris DeLaForest, R-Andover, Tom Hackbarth, R-Cedar, and Rick Hansen, DFL-South St. Paul, back the House bill.

The Senate bill is authored by Sen. Steve Murphy, DFL-Redwing, and has the backing of Sen. Linda Berglin, DFL-Minneapolis, Health and Human Services Finance Committee chair, and a powerful figure in the Senate DFL caucus.

The House bill, too, carries clout.

Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, House Health Care and Human Services Finance Committee chair, is the House author and the bill has the backing of former House Speaker Rep. Steve Sviggum, R-Kenyon, friend of Gov. Tim Pawlenty.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom, Minnesota County Attorney Association president-elect, has repeatedly testified at the Capitol in opposition to the medical marijuana legislation.

Marijuana is a dangerous and addictive drug — a federal Schedule I Controlled Substance, he testified.

Many other medical substitutes — one product derived from marijuana — can be used to control the symptoms medical marijuana is suppose to alleviate, he argued.

“The simple fact of the matter is that this law will harm more people than it helps,” he said.

The bill creates a “safe haven” for drug abuse, Backstrom opined.

Bill critics have characterized marijuana as a “gateway” drug, one easing the step of drug abuse from one to the next.